Code Reviews
Purpose of Code Reviews
- Improve code quality: Code reviews help to identify potential bugs, improve code readability and maintainability, and ensure that code meets the company's standards.
- Share knowledge: Code reviews provide an opportunity for developers to learn from each other and share best practices.
- Catch potential issues early: By reviewing code before it is deployed, code reviews can help catch and resolve problems early in the development process, potentially saving time and money.
- Foster collaboration and communication: Code reviews bring developers together to work towards a common goal and improve communication within the team.
- Enhance team accountability: Code reviews hold developers accountable for the quality of their code and encourage them to take pride in their work.
How to Conduct a Code Review
It's important to conduct code reviews in a constructive and professional manner, focusing on the code itself rather than the individual who wrote it. The goal should be to improve the overall quality of the code, rather than simply finding faults. The tone should be helpful, not critical.
- Review the requirements. Always start by understanding the feature or bug fix.
- Read the tests. The tests should verify the requirements of the work. If some or all the tests are missing, request changes for the missing tests - do not approve the code.
- Read the code. If anything in unreadable or difficult to understand, suggest changes that would provide clarity. In matters of opinion, the code may be approved with suggestions.
- Uphold the code standards and community best practices. If the code falls below expectations, request changes including a reference to the standard or best practice - do not approve the code.